Eagle women take sole possession of No. 2 in FCSAA poll, sets up 1-2 showdown at Chipola

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 13, 2015) – Just in time for Tuesday evening’s Panhandle Conference showdown at top-ranked and undefeated Chipola College, Tallahassee Community College grabbed sole possession of the No. 2 ranking in the new FCSAA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll, released on Tuesday. 

Tallahassee, 18-3 overall and off to its first 3-0 start in PC play since 1997, shared the No. 2 ranking with Northwest Florida State College in last week’s poll. This week, however, the Eagles received 131 total points in the voting, nine more than the third-ranked Raiders. 

Tallahassee’s No. 2 ranking will be put to the ultimate test on Tuesday evening when it travels to Marianna, Fla., for a 6:30 p.m. showdown with Chipola, ranked No. 1 in both the FCSAA and NJCAA polls. The Indians are currently 18-0, winning by an average of 44.7 points per game, and outscoring opponents, on average, 87-36. 

“I told the ladies, this is why they came (to Tallahassee),” said head coach Franqua “Q” Bedell, “the opportunity to play the number one team in the country.” 

The Eagles’ last win over an NJCAA No. 1 team was February 13, 2008, a 79-72 win at eventual national champion Gulf Coast State College. 

Tallahassee’s most recent victory, an 82-63 win over Gulf Coast State on Saturday, knocked the Commodores from fourth to sixth in the poll, and allowed Florida State College at Jacksonville and the College of Central Florida to move up one spot each, to Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.

Eastern Florida State College, Daytona State College, St. Petersburg College and Santa Fe College round on the rankings. 

On the men’s side, Tallahassee slipped two spots to No. 6 after splitting a pair of Panhandle Conference games last week. 

The Eagles’ dominated Pensacola State College, 71-55, on the Pirates’ home floor on January 7 but dropped a 67-61 decision at home to Gulf Coast State on Saturday. 

Northwest Florida State continues to top the poll, followed by Eastern Florida State, Broward College, St. Petersburg and Gulf Coast State. 

Palm Beach State leads the pack behind Tallahassee and is followed by Central Florida, Daytona State and Pensacola State. 

The NJCAA also released its latest Top 25 on Tuesday. The Eagles are unranked for a second straight week but did receive votes.